Skirmisher Publishing LLC has released in PDF format its long-awaited book The Noble Wild: An Animal Player's Handbook for d20/OGL Role-Playing Games (176 pages, $17.99, ISBN 0-9777211-1-6, SKP E 0801). It was written by Lee Garvin, author of the widely-acclaimed Tales from the Floating Vagabond and the Control conspiracy role-playing game.

The Noble Wild is currently available for download at DriveThruRPG and RPGNow.

This exciting new book introduces comprehensive rules for playing intelligent animals in a wide variety of game settings and situations. It will be popular with everyone from groups that want to try all-animal or mixed animal/humanoid parties, to players who want to expand the options for their animal companions and familiars, to game masters who are looking for interesting and unexpected foes to run against their players.

Features of this "Animal Player's Handbook" include:

* Statistics for more than 60 playable species of noble animal;

* Modifications and additions to existing classes, skills, and feats appropriate to animal characters;

* A new basic character class, the Greater Familiar;

* Eight new Prestige Classes, including the Man-Eater and War Mount;

* Special rules for the use of magic by animal characters;

* Information on running several different sorts of campaigns, along with guidelines for Modern scenarios;

* Deeds, magical abilities acquired by performing heroic actions;

* Rules for several new types of magical treasures, including Fetishes, Jujus, and Spellthralls;

* Hundreds of illustrations by artists that include Dragan Ciric, Sharon Daugherty, Todd Diamond, Phil Kightlinger, Russell Prime, Ryan Rouse, George Sieretski, Geoff Weber, and Kira Woodmansee;

* And more!

To comment on this story or the release it is about, go to the page dedicated to it on the Skirmisher Forum.